‘Waste is not mixed up’

The company collecting waste in West Berkshire is pledging to residents their carefully separated waste is not being mixed up again.

Despite a report from an Upper Basildon resident that binmen were seen tipping waste from recycling boxes into a bin then dumping them together into the back of a lorry, Veolia is trying to reassure everyone this is not happening.

It says it is using three lorries with separate compartments inside making it appear that different recyclables are being tipped into the same lorry. Instead, the two compartments of the lorry are emptied individually to keep the waste separate.

Veolia Environmental Services spokeswoman Keely Gallagher said: “We can confirm that all recyclables collected in West Berkshire are recycled via a network of environmentally responsible organisations vetted by Veolia and approved by the council.

“Following the unprecedented participation in the new recycling service in West Berkshire, we promptly implemented measures to ensure that waste and recyclables are collected on schedule throughout the district.

The short-term use of twin pack recycling vehicles (containing two main compartments) ensures that the rounds are completed on time and they are only operating across a minimum of rounds to support the overall service.

“There is no additional cost to the council for providing this faster service.

“Recent media coverage has not reflected the significant increase in the district’s recycling rate – an increase of over 10 per cent compared to the same time last year – which indicates that the new service is not only popular, but is a major contributor to achieving our targets.

“All of the recyclables that are collected across West Berkshire are being recycled and we are very pleased to be collecting more recyclables than we had anticipated.”